Under-fire Penrith coach Matt Elliott admits he may have coached his last game at the Panthers, fearing a club board meeting on Sunday will signal the end of his shaky stint at the foot of the mountains.
Speculation surrounding his possible axing has been rife over the past few weeks, but went into over-drive last night when Nine Network interrupted its football coverage to report Melbourne assistant Stephen Kearney could be assuming the head role at Penrith.
It would be an inglorious end for Elliott, whose team was soundly beaten by the ladder-leading Sea Eagles 34-16 on home soil tonight.
Five loses from their past six matches have seen them slide out of finals contention, possibly dragging Elliott's career down with them.
Speaking exclusively to the Continuous Call Team after the match, Elliott had resigned himself to his fate with tomorrow’s board meeting looming.
"I don't think the spreadsheets are on the agenda. I think there's one agenda item... and that's my tenure,” said a dejected Elliott.
"The fact that the amount of speculation that's been around hasn't been squashed, when there's been an opportunity to squash it, probably makes me a little pessimistic."
Elliott admitted he hasn't been approached by Penrith officials, but knows the silence is deafening.
"No-one from the club has really spoken to me at all.”
This marks Elliott's second season at the club, and his second without a finals berth, but Elliott insisted it's been all about building for the future.
"I intend to come back to work and I feel like we've put ourselves in a position... to build some success now. I'd like to think I'm part of that."
